Peoples War in India Clippings 7/12/2012

Former Salwa Judum leader, cop killed in Maoist attack

A former Salwa Judum leader and a police jawan were killed in a Maoist attack in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh on Friday evening, police said. Chhinnaram Gota, a former Janpad member and a police jawan Mangal Udsam, who was guarding him, were killed when Maoists opened indiscriminate firing, Inspector General (IG) Bastar Range Himanshu Gupta told PTI over phone. The incident took place when Chinnaram, accompanied by two constables, had gone to his field that falls under Farsegarh police station area, around 350km away from the state capital.

The other police jawan Budhram Toke, who was seriously injured in the attack, was later taken to the district hospital. According to police, Chinnaram was a prominent leader during the erstwhile Salwa Judum movement and was on the hit-list of the ultras for a long time. He was earlier attacked at least three times by the Maoists, following which, he was provided police protection, sources added. Salwa Judum, an anti-Maoist civil militia, was disarmed and disbanded in the state following the Supreme Court order declaring as illegal and unconstitutional the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers in the fight against the Maoist insurgency.

RANCHI: One year after a convoy of independent MP Inder Singh Namdhari in Latehar was attacked, in which 10 policemen were killed, Palamu police had finally identified the Maoists cadres who were actively involved in the incident. The police’s first breakthrough in the case was the arrest of one of the Maoists, Bharat Bhuinya, a couple of months ago. Police had also recovered a video CD from him. The CD has come as a great help. The video has helped police closely understand the modus oprendi of the Maoists in executing attacks like the one on Namdhari’s entourage, and will help pin other cadres involved in the attack. Releasing a copy of the video film confiscated from the Maoist commander in Palamu, SP Anup T Mathew said it was probably the first time police have got details of the rebels’ way of functioning during an action. “Since the attack was filmed by the Maoists, they have not covered their faces or tried to conceal identity and this footage will be useful in identifying other members of the PLGA who were involved in the attack,” Mathew said.

Soon after the landmine blast in the forests of Satnadia region under Garu police station in Latehar district on December 3, 2011, around three dozen Maoists came to the site and collected arms and ammunition from dead policemen and filmed the entire activities. “They laid the arms seized from policemen on display and also captured the image of the crator that developed because of the blast,” Mathew said, adding that the video would be shared with Latehar police for further investigation as the incident occurred in Latehar district and the case is being investigated by the Garu police. Namdhari had a close shave whereas the police team in a bus became victims of the landmine blast followed by gunshots.

Speaking about the recovery of this CD, Mathew said Bhuinya, who hails from Palamu, was operating from Latehar. “We had information that he was in his paternal home in palamu when raids were conducted to arrest him,” Mathew said. During the raid police confiscated mobile phones, some papers and a few CDs. “In course of interrogation also Bhuinya admitted to have filmed the incident for training purposes of young recruits and as a matter of record and while going through the material seized from his home we came across that particular CD as well,” he said.

Dumka (Jharkhand): Three Maoist cadre, allegedly involved in setting ablaze about a dozen vehicles belonging to a road construction company were arrested at Dumka in Jharkhand. Superintendent of Police Hemant Toppo said, “Dinesh Rai alias Babu, Shashi Murmu and Deewan Marandi alias Yadav were arrested when they were about to leave Chandni Chowk area on a vehicle on Friday morning”. Toppo said Rai was among the 26 persons named in the FIR lodged in connection with the incident on November 30. Toppo said a Maoist cadre Ramlal Rai had extorted Rs 50 lakh from a road construction company.

Maoist interlocutor Dandapani Mohanty’s son Sangram Mohanty on Thursday began hunger strike in R Udaygiri sub jail in Gajapati district protesting his arrest by the police. Backing his son, Mohanty alleged that the State Government had hatched a conspiracy against his family to put them in trouble. After arresting Sangram on Wednesday, the police had forwarded him to the R Udaygiri JMFC court where his bail plea was rejected and he was sent to the sub jail. Since day one in the jail, Sangram began fasting pleading his innocence and demanding his unconditional release. “If the Government does not release me unconditionally from the jail, I will die here without taking food,” he threatened.

On the other hand, Mohanty said the police had arrested his son under the plea of supplying arms to the ultras to muzzle his voice against the police brutality against the innocent tribals. He said that the police arrested his son at the behest of some top political leaders of the State as Sangram was preparing to work for Pyarimohan Mohapatra’s Odisha Jan Manch (OJM) in Sorada area of Ganjam district. Mohanty said the police arrested his innocent son as a part of Nachika and Sabyasachi’s murder game plan.

“My son is innocent, the Government should release him unconditionally,” he appealed. Notably, Sangram and his associate Kailash Mondal were arrested under Sections 120(B), 121, 121 (A), 124(A) and 163 (B) of the IPC, various sections of the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities Act on Wednesday suspecting the duo to be Maoist supporters. Later, the police had claimed to have seized arms and Maoist literature from the duo.

Gadchiroli: An encounter took place between security forces and Naxalites in the Kakadyeli village forests in Dhanora taluka this morning, the police said here on Friday. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district police were conducting anti-Naxal operations at around 10.30 am in view of the Peoples’ Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) Week being observed, when Naxalites hiding in the forest opened indiscriminate fire on the police which retaliated in self defence. The exchange of fire continued for about 15 minutes, when on growing police pressure, the guerrillas fled away into the forest. The police have recovered a rifle and some Maoist literature from the spot.

CRPF’s second-in-command Harshawardhan, Additional Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Shinde and Sub Divisional Police Officer Bangar rushed to the spot with additional reinforcements and intensified search operations in the jungle, after being informed of the incident, the police said. An offence has been registered with the Dhanora police station and combing operations are on.

A Maoist cadre allegedly involved in violent activities was arrested and huge quantity of arms and ammunition were seized from him at Paparmetela of Malkangiri district in Odisha. The arrested cadre Hira Pangi is a resident of Palankarai village on the upper side of Balimela reservoir. He was arrested after a joint raid by the jawans of BSF and the state’s SOG (special operation group) at Pangi’s house. “The jawans seized two tiffin bombs, one pipe bomb, five electronic detonators, four gas cylinders, 12 sets of bows and arrows, explosive materials and some fuse wire used to blast the landmines,” Superintendent of Police Akilesh Singh said.